Now you BOTH die Sith scum! (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox))

Member Name: Bob_Bell

Product:	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
Date:	13/11/08 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Incredibly immersive story

Disadvantages: May cause much wailing and gnashing of teeth

For the longest time the Star Wars franchise suffered from a serious problem - try as they might, every time they released a video game it seemed to miss the mark.

It's not that any of the games where particularly BAD - many were very passable efforts - it's just that none of them came close to realising the potential of George Lucas' epoch defining behemoth.

Then, in 2003, the excellent BioWare released Knights of the Old Republic, and the curse was lifted.

BioWare have always been masters of the RPG genre, from the Baldur's Gate series through to the more recent Mass Effect, and they brought all their ability to bear on KOTOR.

The game is set 4,000 years before the movies, but don't worry, this is still the Star Wars universe we know and love. Blasters, lightsabres, dodgy cantinas and legions of faceless troopers are all here for your interactive pleasure. You play with one main character and a team of secondary characters you can rotate in and out of your current squad as suits you. All the Star Wars archetypes are represented - the cocky rogue, the brash pilot, the wookie - even the Millennium Falcon is here in an easily recognisable form. All these combine to make the universe feel like Star Wars should feel.

The gameplay is great, especially if you're familiar with RPGs and enjoy (as I do) the micro-management of your character's abilities and equipment. Combat is turn based rather than live like a first person shooter, but there's so much to do you'll be glad of the ability to pause and gather your thoughts. The graphics are rendered wonderfully (though perhaps a little dated by today's standards) and lightsabre combat especially is spectacular.

All of these great qualities, however, pale into insignificance beside the game's crowning achievement - the story. It's amazing. Galaxy sweeping. It has drama, a truly immersive romance subplot (playing as a male character anyway, never quite got round to playing the female romance storyline...) and is guaranteed to keep you hooked. I'm not going to say anything about it (and if you plan to play it for the first time AVOID SPOILERS) other than this anecdote:

There's a twist, of course. I didn't see it coming, and when it did it put me into a genuine rage for days. I stalked about the house glowering at everyone, and while I was playing I turned my previously sweet and kindly character turned into a seething, slicing psychopath hacking his way through all the bad guys I could find until the situation was resolved. Good times. I rarely get emotionally involved in games or films (books are a bit different) but KOTOR got me.

If you've never played, get it and give it a whirl - it's incredible.

(I can also confirm that the Xbox version will play on the 360)

Summary: The finest Star Wars game ever made